Slow living with Elizabeth Evelyn Kirby

Elizabeth Evelyn Kirby, better known as Beth, has taken her southern sensibility and developed it into a fully fledged career. Managing to merge her various talents into localmilkblog.com, a blog that will have you scrolling for hours.

Beth Kirby’s online home at localmilkblog.com is a portfolio of slow food with soul and portrays a lifestyle that is simple yet extraordinary.

She describes her recipes as inspired by the perfection of imperfection, the sacred in the mundane, and living in the present. Her ideal is that we should curate our daily lives; through simplistic pleasures, wildflowers become a syrup and herbs from the garden a tonic. As a native Tennessean, her southern conditioning has lead her to making real food for real people.

SAMPLE BETH’S HOME COOKING:

HONEYSUCKLE LEMONADE

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup lemon juice, 5-6 lemons

1-1.5 cups honeysuckle syrup

4-5 cups water, to taste

ice

handful of fresh mint or basil for muddling (optional)

INSTRUCTIONS:

In a glass pitcher mix the lemon juice, syrup, and water. If you like it less tart, add the 5th cup of water. Lightly muddle the herbs, if using, in the bottom of the pitcher with a wooden spoon. Add plenty of ice and serve.

In a medium mixing bowl whisk together the first seven ingredients to thoroughly and evenly combine.

In a pourable two cup measure combine the buttermilk, egg, olive oil, and vanilla. lightly whisk with a fork to combine. it needn’t be homogenous.

Add this to the dry ingredients. stir gently to just combine so that there is no dry left. don’t worry about lumps, and be careful to not overmix. Gently fold in the apples.

Lightly grease your loaf pan or muffin tins, pour the batter in, and bake it on the center rack for about 35-45 minutes or until a tester inserted into the middle comes out clean and the top is golden brown.

Best served warm with a pat of good, lightly salted butter.

(This recipe was made for a small loaf pan, for a regular sized loaf pan simply double the recipe.)